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Florence and Rome restaurant suggestions for vegetarians

My husband and I are preparing for our first ever trip to Europe (and Italy) in 10 days!!! I'm researching restaurants in Rome and Florence. We're vegetarians (no meat or seafood.. dairy is OK) but I understand it's easy to find vegetarian friendly food in Italy. I would love to get some recommendations in Piazza Navona/Campo de Fiori/Pantheon area in Rome and in near Hotel Casci/Duomo area in Florence....moderately priced.

I'm also looking for a special place to have our anniversary dinner in Rome. Any recommendations will be very appreciated.

Is it also necessary to make reservations for every single dinner or only for upscale places? What is the usual custom?

Thanks zeppole. I'm aware of my earlier post. I wanted to see if there were any other suggestions and more specifically for the special anniversary dinner. I was also looking for an answer to my last question.

i put in "vegetarian restaurants in Rome" and came up with several specifics, plus a link to a thread on TA. i assume the same will happen with Florence.

on the whole, I think that neither place should be very difficult - lots of pasta dishes are made without meat or fish, ditto risottos. Both places will have restaurants with large selections of vegetable antipasti and this time of year, hearty soups made with beans, bread, tomatoes, etc.

as for making reservations, it would probably be a good idea for your anniversary dinner. otherwise it's up to you. if you are struck on a particular place, you could reserve, but generally, unless you find that either city is very busy this time of year [unlikely] it's probably unnecessary.

I've eaten vegetarian all day without even thinking about it. As annhig points out, there are vegetable antipasti, soups, salads, pasta and risotto dishes, cheese courses, etc. etc.

Dinner recommendations:

In Rome: Il Bacaro on via degli Spagnoli (NE of Piazza Navona).

In Florence: Ristorante Il Paiolo on Via Corso (2-3 blocks east of Piazza della Repubblica). This restaurant was a wonderful find-by-chance. My main course of slices of crepes filled with pumpkin and ricotta and baked in the oven was particularly yummy.

Both of these restaurants are fairly small, so even in late November I'd make reservations but same day would probably be earlier enough.

A very romantic restaurant that we enjoyed in Rome was Il Drappo. It's Sardinian food, and we had meat and fish, but I checked their menu, and saw two meatless main courses, and several meatless primis and antipasti.

I agree that you won't have any problems finding tasty vegetarian dishes in Italy.

My rule of thumb in Europe in the less-busy seasons is to make reservations for dinner over weekends, but not during the week. And make reservations for your special day, to make sure it's everything you want it to be!

Dscan99, just returned from a week in Rome and have 2 suggestions for you.

After 3'weeks in Italy we were a bit tired of pasta although I think I could continue to eat caci e pepe the rest of my life...
We ate 3 times at Bibliothe, via Celsa 4, which is near the Pantheon. The food was fresh and delicious. The staff speaks English and were very friendly. We loved the dal soup and their multi course dinner for 25 euro was wel worth it. Highly recommended. Closed on Sundays, I think.

We loved ZaZa at Piazza Eustachio (between the Pantheon and P. Navona). Great pizza, best pizza we ate in Italy. They have a small area with outside seating in a Piazza that seems to have a lot of activity.

One bad experience: Il Margutta on Via Margutta. We felt it was pretentious and overpriced for underwhelming food. Would not recommend.

I have to honestly say that Italy dissappointed us in the food department again. We had several excellent meals of fish (pescatarians) but tired of grilled vegetables and pasta and with the exception of the bread from Altamura which was outstanding, the bread was forgettable. I hope I don't irritate too many with that comment. I suspect that as non meat eaters we miss out on some fantastic eating.

Am working on a trip report for this trip to Abruzzo, Puglia, Amalfi Coast and Rome. As I go through my notes I may add vegetarian suggestions. Have fun!

I am back from my trip and let me say, both my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed eating every single meal... well we had one big disappointing lunch but other than that everything was so fabulous.

In Florence we ate at:

1) Cafe Steffania Marchetti- small little joint on the main street leading up to the Duomo. FAbulous, fresh pastas, paninis and salads.

2) Zaza- It was kind of toursity but the food didn't disappoint. We had the vegetable pizza and Pesto Fettuccine. I loved the grilled veggies on the pizza.. the crust was amazing.

3) Imatti Trattoria - advertised as a pizzeria but their gnocchi was amazing. My husband had the penne arrabiata and said it was one of the best dishes of the entire trip

4) Cipolla Rossa- excellent excellent excellent. WE had penne with carraige driver sauce (which I thought was a bit on the salty side) and a fettuccine with herb pesto and crushed almonds and peppers. Very tasty. Their panna cotta is to die for.

5)Trattoria San Lorenzo- I'd highly recommend this place. But make reservations.

In Rome we ate at:

1)Obika- (first evening, reached late and this place was right opposite our hotel)- their farro soup was really good and hit the spot after a long day.

2) Cafe Mancini - we found out about this place from chowhound but learnt it was closed and instead called "Costa Rei"... specializing in seafood. Did not dine there.

3) Osteria de Mario - grilled vegetable platter (antipasti) which was a bit oily but tasty. We also had the minestrone soup which was really good and the fettuccine alfredo. The portions were HUGE. Finished off the meal with a limencello and some biscotti. The service was super friendly and very quick.

4) Vatican- Arlu a San Pietro - I highly highly recommend this place. WE went there for lunch after a tour of the St Peter Basilica. The lasagna was simple yet amazingly delicious as was the veggie pizza. Thought we mostly ate just pizzas and pastas we never got tired of it

5) Alla Campana- recommended by our hotel for our anniversary dinner- I had a really yummy artichoke ravioli in a pink sauce and the husband had a lentil pasta soup. WE ordered an appetizer of mozzarella, tomatoes and greens. It was divine!!

6) Il Margutta- I give this place only 3 out of 5 stars. The variety was obvious in the brunch buffet but the food was average. The dishes were not hot and I didn't get a satisfying feeling at the end.. probably because I overate LOL but the food was just OK. Maybe the a la carte dinner is better.. but the brunch is an excellent value 12 euros per person.

7) Il Chianti - next to Trevi Fountain. This is where we had the best pizza of the entire trip- Cipolla (onion) pizza with black olives. The mixed salad (greens, corn, cherry tomtaoes, olives and mozzarella) was incredibly fresh and satisfying and complimented the pizza very well. The wine was amazing. and OMG the dessert was a puff pastry with mascarpone filling and fresh strawberries on top and a strawberry sauce on the side. DECADENT!

8) Night and Day- joint near the PAntheon- a disappointing last day dinner. I dont recommend this place. Felt like I was eating sub par food.. the pizza tasted like American takeout pizza Sucked because this was our last meal.. I wish we had better luck.

Overall the experience was very positive and we didn't have to make reservations, probably because we went during low tourist season.